


Honor Among Thieves

by iimpavid



Category: Hellblazer & Related Fandoms, The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Alternate Universe, Body Horror, Case Fic, Curse Breaking, Demonic Possession, Ghosts, M/M, Magic, Monsters, Other, Peter Nureyev's Alias Catalog, Psychic Abilities, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:20:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28460790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iimpavid/pseuds/iimpavid
Summary: Juno really has to get business cards that say something other than "warlock".
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Honor Among Thieves

**Author's Note:**

> A rewrite of an old fic, updated and at least slightly improved, but otherwise presented without any kind of beta reading.

A pair of severed hands appeared late one afternoon in front of the Marsian Historical Society's latest exhibit.

It was very important to call it the Marsian Historical Society, not Martian, because "Martian" was understood by academics of all stripes to refer to the alien race who had once occupied the red planet. "Marsian", meanwhile, referred to the history of the planet after it had been colonized by humans. The Martian/Marsian distinction was paramount to keeping any discussion of history clear for the audience.

And so it came to pass that Mabrie Gardener stood over the sixth pair of severed hands he'd found to date arguing with a dispatcher for the Hyperion City Police Department.

"No, the _Marsian_ \-- not Martian, _Marsian Historical Society_ , with an _S_ , the _Martian_ Historical Society is located on Neptune." His voice was approaching shrill, something he generally tried to avoid at all costs. He was a worn-looking man, and slender, who might have been pretty if it weren't for the bags under his eyes, his chapped lips, and the general aura of malaise clung to his garishly patterned sweater vest. "We're located at 54th and Vine-- yes, hands. Cut cleanly at the wrist, it had to be done with something terribly sharp-- _no this is not a prank call!_ " 

The hands, as all the others had been, were desiccated and leathery with age and they sat atop the glass case that housed a Chukulak dagger. The one-of-a-kind artifact was carved from a biped's femur and sharpened using neutron folding techniques that hadn't been developed by any parallel species until a thousand years after Chukulak society fell. It was incredibly are.

All pairs of hands found thus far had belonged to the MHS's librarians.

Mabrie Gardener was the last of the librarians currently in residence. He was the only one willing to remain on duty.

Tucking his comms into his sweater vest pocket with a heavy sigh he turned to regard the hands. He slipped on a pair of black leather gloves and lifted one of the mummified hands for inspection. He recognized the diamond ring decorating the index finger: it was Henry Thompson's wedding band. Poor Henry. He'd been an excellent curator but now, it seemed, the role would fall next to Mabrie. Martian antiquities was positively feudal business when it came down to workplace transitions.

That decided matters for him: he needed to seek outside help.

Then, Mabrie eased the glittering free ring from the cracked, dusty finger and slipped it into his pocket.

**Author's Note:**

> Knowing me, updates will be sporadic, but I've got 20k of rough draft in my files so at the very least I can promise at least one more chapter sometime this spring.


End file.
